Employer Liability

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As a general rule, an employee is deemed not to be “in the course and scope of employment” and is therefore not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, while commuting to and from work. Two recent opinions from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court explored this rule.
Continue Reading Recent Workers’ Compensation Cases Focus on “Going and Coming” Rule

Does your Company use regular mail to send out FMLA notices? After reading the latest decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, all employers covered under the FMLA should consider using certified mail to send FMLA notices to employees utilizing FMLA leave. Click on the link below for more on this interesting case.
Continue Reading Mailing FMLA Notices to Employees? Not So Fast

By now, most federal contractors are aware of the new regulations that go into effect on March 24 requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain protected veterans and individuals with disabilities

What many contractors may not realize is that as of July 1, 2013, they also became covered by federal whistleblower regulations. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 created a pilot program mandating all employees working for contractors, grantees, subcontractors, and subgrantees be protected by federal whistleblower law for all federal grants and contracts entered into after July 1, 2013.
Continue Reading New Whistleblower Protections Now in Effect For Federal Contractors

We here at the McNees Wallace & Nurick Labor and Employment Law Group have been busy preparing for the holiday season. Just last week we were able to celebrate with family and friends at our annual holiday party.

While holiday parties can be great fun, hosting a holiday party or placing holiday decorations in or around the office can raise a whole host of legal concerns including religious discrimination or harassment claims, sexual harassment claims, or workers compensation concerns. Michael R. Kelley, Esq., Chair of McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Insurance Recovery & Counseling Group has written in the past about serving alcohol at holiday parties and we wanted to take a few moments to remind you about the potential legal ramifications of serving alcohol at your holiday party.
Continue Reading Serving Alcohol at Your Holiday Party

A recent decision by a Pennsylvania district court lends support for a growing trend of filing claims under the Federal False Claims Act based on allegations that contractors on federally funded construction projects submitted “false claims” to the U.S. government due to prevailing wage violations. In United States ex rel. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local Union No. 98 v. The Farfield Co., the electrical workers union filed a complaint in federal court alleging that the contractor had violated the False Claims Act by submitting false certified payrolls that misclassified certain workers on public works projects in the Philadelphia area. Although this type of complaint would normally fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Labor, the judge nonetheless allowed the union’s case to proceed in court on a False Claims Act theory. With judicial recognition of this type of legal claim, not only does the DOL have the ability to investigate contractors for prevailing wage violations under the Davis-Bacon Act, but private citizens can also attack alleged violations under the False Claims Act.
Continue Reading Contractors Beware: Raising the Stakes in Davis-Bacon Compliance

At our recent Labor and Employment Law Seminar, we highlighted a number of outstanding legal cases that have the potential to have a significant impact on employer liability. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued decisions in two closely watched Title VII employment discrimination/retaliation cases. In each case, the Court clarified previously unsettled legal questions in favor of employers.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Issues Two Title VII Decisions Favorable for Employers

 This post was contributed by Joseph S. Sileo, Esq., a new addition to McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group.  McNees recently welcomed Joe, Jennifer LaPorta Baker and Jennifer J. Walsh in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

As employers know all too well, an employee who is injured in connection with work can receive…

In 2011, the Third Circuit held that a pre-certification offer of judgment made by a defendant-employer to an individual plaintiff would not require dismissal of the plaintiff’s entire FLSA collective action, even if the offer of judgment would fully satisfy the plaintiff’s own individual claims. Before this decision, employers increasingly had used offers of judgment made pursuant to Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to “pick off” individual plaintiffs and defeat FLSA collective actions early in the litigation before they could be certified. The Third Circuit held that even though an offer of complete relief could moot the plaintiff’s individual claims (regardless of whether the offer was accepted), it would not defeat the broader FLSA collective action. In June 2012, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Third Circuit’s decision on this issue.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Reverses Third Circuit Decision Precluding Early Use of Offer of Judgment to Defeat An FLSA Collective Action

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the protections of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA” or “Act”) do not extend to employees who neither live nor work in Pennsylvania. The PHRA is Pennsylvania’s comprehensive anti-discrimination law that promotes equal opportunity and prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, and other protected traits.

In Blackman v. Lincoln National Corp., plaintiff Kathy Blackman filed an employment discrimination case against her former employer alleging she was subject to discrimination on the basis of sex and age in violation of the PHRA. At the time of the allegedly discriminatory act, Blackman lived in Illinois and worked in the Illinois office of a company headquartered in Pennsylvania. The judge dismissed Blackman’s PHRA claim after concluding that the PHRA does not apply to non-resident, out-of-state workers.
Continue Reading Nonresident, Out-of-State Workers not Protected by PHRA

Let’s say that you are having a Holiday party (with alcohol served) at your home, or you are a business owner and have a voluntary “company” party for your employees. If someone becomes “visibly intoxicated” at your party, are you as the host of the party liable if the visibly intoxicated guest leaves your party and injures himself or someone else? Does your homeowners or commercial liability policy cover you for defense costs and for a settlement or judgment if you get sued? What about worker’s comp coverage for your employees?
Continue Reading Are You Liable for Serving Alcohol at Holiday Parties?